Residents in Sydney’s south-west have complained of a strong chlorine smell from their tap water, with some reporting skin irritation and illness. Sydney Water has insisted the supply is safe to drink, but customers in Spring Farm, Mount Annan, Oran Park, Gregory Hills, Grasmere and Cobbity remain dissatisfied with the explanation.
Spring Farm resident Megan Hockey said the odour became particularly noticeable after she took a bath on Friday night.
“I had a bath on Friday night and got out of it, and it honestly was like I’d got out of a pool. Like, I just stunk and my skin had blown up,” she said.
Hockey said other residents had described similar experiences on a local community Facebook page, while some had begun buying bottled water rather than drinking from the tap.
Sydney tap water chlorine complaints prompt questions over change
She said Sydney Water gave different explanations for the smell. During a phone conversation, she was told it could be because she had used the water at peak hour, at 10.30pm on a Friday.
However, a letter from the utility attributed the odour to a change in disinfectant intended to maintain safety. It said the switch from monochloramine to free chlorine could produce “a more noticeable taste and odour”.
Sydney Water’s Corinna Doolan said the change was necessary because chlorine played an important role in protecting the water supply.
“We changed the type of chlorine that we use, and chlorine is an essential part of making sure that our water is safe to drink,” she said.
A comparison of Hockey’s tap water with refrigerated filtered water found the filtered water had a noticeably better taste.
Plumber Andrew David, from About Plumbing Time, said he had noticed an increase in chlorine complaints in the affected suburbs over several years. He said a whole-house filtration system cost about $3,500 installed, while adding reverse osmosis would cost a further $2,000.
For residents already unhappy with their water bills, paying for filtration has become an additional expense.
